High heels can be an extremely painful ordeal, especially if you're wearing them for a long period of time and walking a lot. That's often the perfect recipe for blisters, sore feet, and even bleeding. Unfortunately, a woman is claiming her friend was required to wear high heels while waitressing at a restaurant in Alberta, Canada—and it didn't end pretty. Nicola Gavins shared a photo on Facebook last week of a pair of bloody feet, claiming they belonged to a friend who wore heels while waitressing at a local restaurant called JOEY. Gavins claimed that heels are a requirement for the chain’s female employees, and says that even when her friend told a manager about her injuries, she was still forced to wear heels her next shift.

"My friend's feet were bleeding to the point she lost a toe nail, and she was still discouraged and berated by the shift manager for changing into flats (specifically told that heels would be required on her next shift the following day)," Gavins claims on Facebook. Her friend is unnamed in the post, and she has yet to speak out herself. But Gavin's post has gone viral, with more than 11,000 shares.

Gavins claims that the same restaurant also requires female employees to purchase a uniform for $30 while men can simply wear black clothing they already own. Gavins calls the situation "sexist, archaic requirements and [a] totally disgusting policy." She'll no longer be going to JOEY, and it's unclear if her friend still works there.

"I have many friends in the service industry and know loads of ladies who still earn great tips without having to sacrifice their comfort while serving," she writes. "I'll choose to continue supporting those establishments."

In an e-mail statement, Britt Innes, VP of Marketing for JOEY Restaurant Group, told SELF that they were disappointed to hear of the incident and reached out to the waitress.

"After speaking with her, we followed up with our management team and employees to ensure everyone has the correct information and training materials around our policies and guidelines," she writes.

Innes claims that the restaurant changed their shoe guidelines in March, but did not clarify whether there was some kind of heel rule for women before. Now, she says, their policy only requires men and women to wear black dress shoes, with no minimum heel height. She says the Alberta JOEY franchise seemed to miss the memo of the new rules.

"It is clear that it did not reach every partner and I take ownership for that," Innes writes. "In retrospect, we should have ensured all outdated training materials were destroyed."